Hardcore/Casual Gaming: How do you define them?

[mykalgaidin]

Originally Posted by Dvader83

I know that is true in my case since I used to be in the Nintendo camp back then, but have lost interest in them after the N64 started doing poorly, and have since switched to the Xbox camp mainly because of the way that MS brought forth Xbox Live as a good place to play multiplayer games.

Good point about the Wii, but I'm curious as to why you feel the need to place yourself in one "camp" or the other. Isn't one gaming system as good as any other, seeing as they all play games?

For the record, I own a Wii. And a 360. And a PS3. And a PSP. And a DS. And they all get used because they all play games that I enjoy. The very definition of console agnostic, I guess.

Not trying to step on your toes, vader, just genuinely curious.

plz to not force choke me? kthxbai

[mykalgaidin]

Originally Posted by Retodon8

Actually a friend's wife seems to fit that category.
That friend told me he'd been playing Warrior Within with his wife.
I asked him how exactly that worked with a single player game, and he explained that he was the one controlling the Prince, and that she looked, helped him figure out where to go next, how to progress through the levels.
He said they both had a good time playing like that too.

That is exactly how my wife and I play, and it seems to work out. She did start playing games herself soon after we got married, starting with Final Fantasy 8 (she defeated the spider machine on the bridge during the first mission just because a friend of ours said she couldn't) and moved on to Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy IX. These days (almost 10 wonderful years later), she plays occasionally, but for the most part it's her on the couch next to me, pointing out things I miss, helping me solve puzzles and cursing difficult parts with a surprisingly colorful vocabulary.

[Dvader83]

Originally Posted by mykalgaidin

Good point about the Wii, but I'm curious as to why you feel the need to place yourself in one "camp" or the other. Isn't one gaming system as good as any other, seeing as they all play games?

For the record, I own a Wii. And a 360. And a PS3. And a PSP. And a DS. And they all get used because they all play games that I enjoy. The very definition of console agnostic, I guess.

Not trying to step on your toes, vader, just genuinely curious.

plz to not force choke me? kthxbai

Ah, well allow me to explain myself to you, young grasshopper. I liked the games on the Nintendo systems back then over Sega(back in the late 80's/early 90's, I couldn't get enough of SMB, the Sonic games I wasn't really interesed in[only now do I realize that I missed out on some classic games]). After I started to lose interest in Nintendo consoles, I wanted to find a new console to turn to for entertainment. Just about that time, I started to hear about a new console being developed by MS, so I jumped on board with the Xbox. When the 360 was annouced, I was already hooked on Xbox, so I stayed with the MS console. Also the fact that I could only save up and buy for one system kind of forced me stay loyal to one platform. In fact, the first console I purchased was an N64, I only played the earlier Nintendo consoles at friends houses.

[mykalgaidin]

Originally Posted by Dvader83

Ah, well allow me to explain myself to you, young grasshopper. I liked the games on the Nintendo systems back then over Sega(back in the late 80's/early 90's, I couldn't get enough of SMB, the Sonic games I wasn't really interesed in[only now do I realize that I missed out on some classic games]). After I started to lose interest in Nintendo consoles, I wanted to find a new console to turn to for entertainment. Just about that time, I started to hear about a new console being developed by MS, so I jumped on board with the Xbox. When the 360 was annouced, I was already hooked on Xbox, so I stayed with the MS console. Also the fact that I could only save up and buy for one system kind of forced me stay loyal to one platform. In fact, the first console I purchased was an N64, I only played the earlier Nintendo consoles at friends houses.

Thank you, Lord Vader.

Seems like every other place I've seen that question posed was inundated with fanboy flaming. I knew I picked the right site to start posting on. gDNA FTW!

[Debaser]

I think everything everyone has posted so far is right, as the definition of 'harcore' and 'casual' is highly subjective....it all depends on who you ask.

Someone mentioned that it comes down to passion, I would disagree with that..."casual gamers" can love a game just as much as any hardcore, they jkust may not get to devote enough time to it due to real life commitments, job/family, all that.

Like myself, for instance, I like to refer to myself as a hardcore casual. (during my WoW days, anyways)...I love the game as much as any hardcore player, I just couldn't play all the time, it wasn't conducive to a new marriage and an even newer baby.

The one thing that I've observed (again, this is subjective) is that "hardcore" players tend to be pretty elitist....they look down on you if you don't have the right gear can't kite that well, or tank differently than they do. Basically, alot of them think they know everything about the particular game, and anyone who does things differently is a noob/bad player. Of course not all hardcore players are like that, but it's been my experience that a large portion of them are. They're pretty easy to spot as they'll always be the ones using "casual" as a derogatory term.

[Scr4t]

Its not a matter of how long you have played a game but how well you can use every aspect of a game to your advantage

[Retodon8]

Originally Posted by Debaser

I think everything everyone has posted so far is right, as the definition of 'harcore' and 'casual' is highly subjective....it all depends on who you ask.

Someone mentioned that it comes down to passion, I would disagree with that...

I completely agree about the first part.
As for the second, I didn't, until I read your reasoning.

Someone less lazy than I should (or at least could) compile two lists now.
One with all the attributes mentioned referring to hard core gamers, and one with the attributes attributed to casual gamers.
Nobody will fit either list perfectly, or perhaps even a single item on a list, but that would be consistent with reality.

[Debaser]

Originally Posted by Retodon8

I completely agree about the first part.
As for the second, I didn't, until I read your reasoning.

Someone less lazy than I should (or at least could) compile two lists now.
One with all the attributes mentioned referring to hard core gamers, and one with the attributes attributed to casual gamers.
Nobody will fit either list perfectly, or perhaps even a single item on a list, but that would be consistent with reality.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say alot of people would probably share a fair amount of attributes from both lists. I'll just chalk it all up to the gaming world being a pretty strange place.

I mean, I used to see it in wow all the time someone is insulting someone else and saying they have no life, etc, and then in the next breath they are "bragging" to someone about how they've been farming for the past 14 hours or something like that.

I think the only attribute that seperates harcore/casual that EVERYONE can agree on is time played, the rest is malleable as you find people with teh passion on both sides of the fence.